You can soon buy a ‘brand-new’ DeLorean DMC-12

These two 1981 DeLorean DMC-12s belong to members of the Pacific Northwest DeLorean Club in B.C.

Brendan McAleer, Driving

Thanks to new U.S. legislation, the DeLorean DMC-12 is back in production

by
Clayton Seams | January 28, 2016

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The new Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act in the U.S. has blown the doors wide open for companies making replicas of cars that are more than 25 years old.

These boutique manufacturers are no longer held to the same crash testing and emission standards as manufacturers that make millions of cars per year. One of the first groups to take advantage of this legislation is the “new” DeLorean Motor Company.

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The company was formed from the ashes of the original when they bought all the remaining parts inventory in 1997. It mainly focuses on refurbishing existing DeLoreans and selling parts for DeLorean owners, but many these “new old stock” parts will be used to build new DMC-12s – enough to build around 300 cars.

The new DMC-12’s are expected to cost between US$80,000 and US$100,000. They also won’t be a bolt-for-bolt recreation of the original, either; while the exterior panels will be the same and they will remain instantly recognizable as DeLoreans, new versions will produce between 300 and 400 horsepower, likely from a V6 engine. The stock wheels will also be upgraded to measure 17 or 18 inches in order to fit modern high-performance tires.